Changing your dog’s diet isn’t something you can do overnight. Whether you are looking to give your pet more variety in their diet or a more nutritious diet, introducing new foods too quickly can cause them digestive upset.

Here are some guidelines on how to successfully transition your dog to new foods.

INTRODUCE NEW FOODS GRADUALLY

Any new foods should be introduced slowly and gradually to your dog over the course of a week for optimal digestion.

It’s recommended you start out by replacing 25% of your dog’s normal food, then move to 50%, then 75%, over the course of 7 – 10 days.

MAKE ONE CHANGE AT A TIME

To help you monitor how your dog is responding to their new food, make sure you only introduce one new food at a time to their diet. This will help you pinpoint any issues as soon as they arise.

MIX NEW TEXTURES SLOWLY

If you are feeding your dog dry food but would like to transition them to adding in a ‘topper’ consisting of wet or chilled foods, make sure you do so slowly.

Start off by mixing a small amount of topper into their dry food and gradually increase the amount (while decreasing the dry food), over seven days.

Remember if you are ‘mixed feeding’ like this, the dry food should make up the majority of your dog’s diet. The topper is a tasty addition to enhance the flavour.

If you find your dog has a stomach upset from one particular topper, discontinue feeding it and gradually try an alternate flavour.

KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR FURRY FRIEND

Keep a close eye on your dog when introducing new foods to their diet. If your dog loses weight, appears lethargic, develops vomiting/diarrhoea or refuses to eat during the transition, consult your vet for advice.

Always follow the feeding guidelines on the pack of each individual food and feed your dog according to their ideal body weight. Their ideal body weight should be advised by your vet.